Big Walnut Watershed

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Big Walnut Watershed

• By Caroline Oldstone Moore, Devina Mehta,
  Jillian Frost

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Map of Big Walnut
Impaired streams are not meeting the Ohio
standards for good water quality. The main causes
of impairment are nutrient enrichment, siltation,
and channelization. Impairment is affected by the
quality of the substrate
Agriculture
Forests
Reservoir
Urban
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Urban Impact on Substrate

• Construction sites expose soil and some soil is
  washed into the streams.

Construction sites

• Storm sewers drain runoff from streets and
  parking lots into streams and rivers.

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Substrate

• A substrate is the bottom of a body of water. A
  rocky substrate is important because it gives
  macroinvertebrates a habitat, and fish lay eggs
  in between the rocks. If a substrate is covered
  with siltation, the fish and macroinvertebrate
  population will decrease.

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The Good and the Bad
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Scientific Method

• Problem/Water Quality
• Observations
• Hypothesis
• Data Collection from EPA test sites
• Data Analysis with graphs
• Conclusions
• Recommendations

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Hypothesis 1

• The high quality of the substrate will greatly
  increase the quality of the habitat ( the
  QHEI), and therefore the IBI will increase.

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Substrate vs. QHEI and IBI
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Conclusion

• My data has supported the hypothesis that as
  the substrates quality increases the IBI and the
  QHEI increase.

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Hypothesis 2

• When urban and agricultural areas in the
  watershed increase, the QHEI ( or habitat
  quality) decreases.

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Ave QHEI and Forestation vs. Urban and Agriculture
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• Agriculture harms the QHEI in two ways.
• As cattle cross the bank, dirt erodes into the
  stream and causes siltation.
• When the land is farmed right to the streams
  edge, there is no vegetation to hold the dirt in
  place. This causes soil to erode into the stream
  and settle over the substrate.

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My Conclusion
My conclusion is that the data I presented
supports my hypothesis. The QHEI was improved
when the riparian zone was healthy, while the
QHEI was impaired when the riparian zone was in
an agricultural or urban area.
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Hypothesis 3

• When the water temperature decreases, there will
  be more dissolved oxygen and a higher IBI.

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Data
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Conclusion

• My data showed that my hypothesis was partially
  supported.
• The water temperature does affect the DO levels,
  but the temperature does not seem to affect the
  IBI at some places according to the data.

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Recommendations

• Farmers could plant vegetation along fields and
  pastures to improve the Riparian Zone.
• Stop cutting down trees, and the trees that have
  been cut down should be replaced.
• Find safer ways of disposing of waste, and
  practice conservation more frequently.
• Fence off pastures to keep livestock out of
  stream areas.

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Acknowledgements

• Paula- for being such a great leader
• Steve Virginie for being so patient and such
  computer pros!
• Leslie- for always giving us a laugh when we
  needed one and for being so helpful.
• KK- for being a great mentor.
• Anne Sahaja- for being there when we needed
  them!
• Parents- for giving us the opportunity to come.
• Nichelle- for being an awesome teacher!!!!!